Different colors and graphics are frequently printed on a large sheet of paperboard material to form an array of panel blanks containing the desired color scheme, graphics, logos, and other information. The sheet is then fed into a die cutter having cutting dies with a matching array of rows and/or columns to stamp or cut out the individual blanks. The blanks are then stacked for further processing.
To temporarily hold the cut blanks together and enable them to be stacked in appropriate alignment as they are fed from the die cutter for subsequent handling and processing, and to prevent bleeding of ink and/or the formation of dark bands at the edges of the graphics between adjacent blanks, narrow strips of the sheet material, known as gutters, are left between adjacent blanks. These gutter strips are treated as waste, and in accordance with conventional practice are removed by hand after the cut blanks leave the guillotine section of the die cutter. Hand removal of the gutter strips leads to repetitive motion injuries and significant slowing of the die cutter run speed.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a means that eliminates the need for hand removal of the gutter strips.